Tag Archives: Erdogan the nationalist

Turkey rebukes Israel: do they remember Northern Cyprus and the Kurds?

Boutros Hussein and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

Turkey is once more playing the “Israel card” whereby in order to gain credibility at home and to appease the anti-Israeli lobby, the same issue keeps on popping up. However, while individuals or governments who oppose Israel may welcome the ongoing outbursts which break out frequently it is obvious that mass hypocrisy in Turkey renders this a farce.

If Turkey is so concerned about human rights then why not focus on leaving Northern Cyprus, give greater freedom to the Kurds, install equality for the Alevi Muslims, stop attacking Kurds in Northern Iraq and recognize the mass genocide of Christians which took place in 1915 (pogroms before and after this date).

It is insincere for Turkey to keep on using the same issue because Turkey put a blockade on Armenia because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Also, would Turkey welcome boats entering “their space” if they provided support to the Kurds or if Orthodox Christians desired to show the illegal occupation of Northern Cyprus?

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also must be questioned because if an inquiry can take place about such a limited event; then how about providing tens of thousands of other inquiries for all the dead Kurds by the armed forces of Turkey?

Also, the ICJ should open tens of thousands of reports in order to highlight the killings in Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Syria and a host of other countries. The ICJ should not be getting involved in anti-Israeli policies irrespective of the outcome because millions of Africans were killed in Sudan by the Arab Islamists and clearly the leader of Turkey cares little about this. Therefore, if the ICJ is going to spend such resources on an event where the loss of life was minimal – it begs the question, how much per head have they spent on the Arab Islamists regimes over the last 28 years which have killed millions in Sudan?

It is clear that the per-head costs will not compare and anti-Israel policies or over scrutiny of Israel often smacks of anti-Semitism and a liberal Jewish self loathing lobby also does not help.

Daniel Pipes commented in his article which was published by The Washington Times (Turkey in Cyprus vs. Israel in Gaza) the following statement with regards to hypocrisy in Turkey:

“Turkey’s invasion of July-August 1974 involved the use of napalm and “spread terror” among Cypriot Greek villagers, according to Minority Rights Group International. In contrast, Israel’s “fierce battle” to take Gaza relied on only conventional weapons and entailed virtually no civilian casualties.”

“The subsequent occupation of 37 percent of the island amounted to a “forced ethnic cleansing,” William Mallinson said in a just-published monograph from the University of Minnesota. In contrast, if one wishes to accuse the Israeli authorities of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, it was against their own people, the Jews, in 2005.”

“The Turkish government has sponsored what Mr. Mallinson calls “a systematic policy of colonization” on formerly Greek lands in Northern Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots in 1973 totaled about 120,000 people; since then, more than 160,000 citizens of the Republic of Turkey have been settled in their lands. Not a single Israeli community remains in Gaza.”

“Ankara runs its occupied zone so tightly that, in the words of Bulent Akarcali, a senior Turkish politician, “Northern Cyprus is governed like a province of Turkey.” An enemy of Israel, Hamas, rules in Gaza.”

“The Turks set up a pretend-autonomous structure called the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.” Gazans enjoy real autonomy.”

Indeed, irrespective of the motives behind the demonstrators it must be stated that they are blinkered by their own hatred. Why don’t they visit Darfur and show solidarity with African Muslims against the Khartoum Arab-Islamist regime? Why don’t they visit Kurdish areas which are attacked by the armed forces of Turkey? Why don’t they go to Myanmar and highlight a war which gains little media attention?

The same “Why don’ they” applies to so many conflicts and currently we can add Syria to this list. However, clearly the coverage of what Israel does is highlighted beyond a level playing field and it is tinged with racism and mass hypocrisy.

Ahmed Davutoglu, Foreign Minister of Turkey, is clearly following the line of the leader of Turkey and the political hypocrisy is obvious. The armed forces of Turkey have recently bombed and attacked Kurds in parts of Turkey and in Northern Iraq.

At the same time Turkish settlements in Northern Cyprus is maintaining the systematic destruction of Orthodox Christianity and changing the ethnic make-up of this island. The armed forces of Turkey are also illegally in Northern Cyprus and Turkey continues to hinder natural trade with Armenia because of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

Turkey is playing a dangerous game and in the past the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stated that Israel was“perpetrating inhuman actions which would bring it to self-destruction.”

Leaders in Turkey are whipping up anti-Israel passions because of multiple factors, ranging from Turkish nationalism to Islamists within the ruling party who desire to change the secular nature of Turkey by stealth.

The current crisis between Israel and Turkey is not based on the Mavi Marmara incident because deeper issues are at play within the current leadership of Turkey.

The passages of time never heal completely when such crimes have been committed and the aggressor refuses to either admit to such barbaric crimes or makes lame excuses all the time. Despite this, Armenia entered talks with Turkey in the hope of solving long held problems and in the need to stabilize the region.

However, leaders in Turkey are still trying to dictate and they are putting pre-conditions down on a conflict which is outside their remit. This applies to the ongoing crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Yet this issue involves Armenia and Azerbaijan and it is not up to Turkey to decide the fate of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Yes, Turkey, just like the Russian Federation and Iran, and other regional nations and nations who are also concerned about this issue, does have a right to be concerned about regional problems but it must be “an honest broker” and not dictatorial. After all, would Turkey be happy if Armenia stated that Turkey must handover land to the Kurds or return land to the Armenians, Assyrians, and other ethnic groups who were “cleansed” in the early 20th century?

It also must be remembered that Turkish military forces are still based throughout northern Cyprus and this is the problem with Turkey. For it appears that the leaders of Turkey suffer from historical amnesia. Also, nationalism is still a potent force within the major institutions of Turkey.

If we look at the founding father of modern day Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, then it is clear that he himself supported the destruction of Christianity via the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Christian genocide of 1915. Therefore, it is clear that Turkish nationalism and secularism is tainted by its anti-Christian nature and also its anti-Kurdish nature. After all, the nation state of Turkey was about Turkish nationalism and secularism did not protect the religious or ethnic minorities of this diverse nation.

Some people in Turkey play “the religious card” and ply the mantra of Muslim brotherhood. However, this is also hollow because tens of thousands of mainly Muslim Kurds have been killed over the last few decades and many Kurdish villages were also destroyed. Also, the Alevi are a Muslim minority group in Turkey and they also face discrimination and massacres have taken place against them from time to time, for example in 1993 you had the Sivas massacre when radical Sunni Islamists killed many innocent people.

Turning back to recent times the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Eduard Nalbandian, was very frank about the ongoing problem with Turkey. He stated that “Had there been preconditions, we would not have started this process and reached agreements in the first place.” Nalbandian continued by stating that “If one of the parties is creating artificial obstacles, dragging out things, that means it is assuming responsibility for the failure of this process,” and this can be seen to be a tacit warning to Turkey about the ongoing problems involving Armenia and Turkey.

However, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, stated in October 2009 that “Turkey cannot take a positive step towards Armenia unless Armenia withdraws from Azerbaijani land […] if that issue is solved our people and our parliament will have a more positive attitude towards this protocol and this process.”

Erdogan also stated that “We will bring the protocol to parliament but parliament has to see the conditions between Azerbaijan and Armenia to decide whether this protocol can be implemented.”

Yet according to Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Media Institute in Yerevan, he makes it clear that “The Turkish side needs to play to its domestic audience. Erdogan and other political figures have made such statements often enough […] It’s a fact that neither the word Karabakh nor Azerbaijan appears in the documents that were signed.”

Nalbandian also commented in January 2010 that “If Turkey takes a step back, then this will be not only a violation of the agreements with Armenia but will demonstrate that it is not respecting the international community’s opinion, with all resulting consequences and the loss of credibility in the first instance.” He continued by stating that “Armenia, on the other hand, will — let’s not say win — not lose anything that we had before this process.”

Therefore, outside nations need to put more pressure on Turkey in order for “a new chapter” to begin between Armenia and Turkey. The Nagorno-Karabakh issue is indeed serious, however, this dispute is between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Also, the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis must be resolved by all the parties involved and by both regional and global institutions which have a vested interest in solving this complex problem.

However, the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis is a separate issue and Turkey can’t claim otherwise because this issue was outside the signed agreement between Armenia and Turkey.

The genocide of Armenians and other Christians in 1915 is an historical fact and the same applies to massacres which took place before and after this date. Turkey can never erase this history, however, this nation can start “a fresh chapter” which is based on sincerity and genuine friendship with Armenia.

Therefore, do the leaders of Turkey desire friendship and honesty or is nationalism too embedded within the mindset of the political elites of this nation?